Thursday 28 January 2016

Review: Slaves // Are You Satisfied

For many years my dad has plonked CD’s and Vinyls down on my desk of old punk bands. “You’ll like this” he’d say and I did. I’ve always enjoyed kicking back and listening to some Clash and the Sex Pistols.

You see my dad grew up with the punk movement, the politically motivated, hard hitting movement that dominated the rock sub culture in the 70′s. Something remembered by everyone, and loved by many,it brought rebellion and angst to the forefront of music and allowed people to protest in a new and popular way.

But as with many great era’s of music it died away long before I was born in 1996 and to me, and I’m sure to many others, modern popular music is drab, dreary and meaningless. With the exception of a few bands, angry meaningful music was dead.

FInally, however there may be hope.

Halfway through April, my sat me down and said “We need to see this band Slaves”, I didnt think too much about it, it was a cheap gig so I decided to go.

The night before the gig was the first time I listened to any of their music, I switched on soundcloud and listened to their song ‘The Hunter’. From the first note to the very last note I felt as if I had my brain smashed out with a punk rock sized brick. It was incredible. A fantastic riff, a brilliant tune and a thumping beat matched with brilliant lyrics that meant something. A protest song.

The next 24 hours went so slowly, I hadn’t been this excited for a gig in a long time. We trundled down to Portsmouth to a fantastic venue called The Wedgewood Rooms. The two support bands were brilliant and everyone was fired up and ready for the show. While we waited they had reggae music playing over the system, not the normal choice for a punk band, all of a sudden the lights dimmed.

An explosion of noise erupted around the venue, the first notes of ‘The Hunter’ twanged out and the whole crowd appeared to stop still before becoming a frenzied mass of bodies moshing and dancing to the rebirth of punk.

During the gig and after I had never felt such a buzz of an excitement, such an atmosphere around a band whose first album went unnoticed by most of the world. Within weeks they appeared on Radio 1′s live lounge. Bringing this brilliant sound to the country again.


They have received the first Kerrang Spirit of Punk award, and I’m sure many more are to follow after a magnificent first album. The very same album which I plonked down on my dads desk and said “You’ll like this”.

(10/10)

-Luke

Reading & Leeds 2016: Who We Hope To See

So today the next part of the Reading & Leeds line-up was announced with the likes of Foals, Disclosure, Nothing But Thieves and Two Door Cinema Club announced. But who else is going to be announced? We have no idea but here's who we want to be announced!

Frightened Rabbit
Okay this ones a bit on me. One of my favourite bands of all time, releasing their 5th album this year would them to be booked (hint hint festival organisers)

Frank Turner
If Frank showed up this year it would be his 10th year in a row and after headlining the Festival Republic stage last year we can only hope he goes further up the order again this year!

The Milk
Another one I'm being slightly optimistic for, but after their stunning album received huge critical acclaim last year making it as one of BBC 6 Musics albums of the year, who would blame the Festval organisers for booking them!

The Last Shadow Puppets
With a new album due in April and their new single 'Bad Habits' reviving memories of their epic 2007 debut hopefully Miles and Alex will make an appearance at this years festival.

Fat White Family
Another band with a new album due and going on tour in March could they be bringing their roudy set to R&L

Modern Baseball
After being announced last year but unable to play due to illness and with a new album on the horizon, they;ll hopefully be able to make it this year!

Wolf Alice
After storming 2015, it seems the next logical step is for Wolf Alice to be bumped up the order a bit at R&L. With huge UK, EU and US tours coming up we can only hope they end their summer ar Reading & Leeds.

Tame Impala
The huge success of the album Currents as propelled Tame Impala far up the musical pecking order and hopefully into the forefront of festival organisers minds.

Jack Garratt
After winning BBC's Sound Of 2016, it does look like 2016 could be Jack Garratt's year. I saw him perform at last years festival and he was stunning and with his album 'Phase' due in February, hopefully he'll make an appearance at R&L again this year.

Catfish & The Bottlemen
After a stunning, tent filling performance in 2015, Catfish look set for a bigger slot this year, especially with a new album rumoured to be on the horizon, we can't wait.

Bloc Party
Headlining the NME awards tour in 2016, Bloc Party look dead set to play the NME stage at R&L/

Wednesday 27 January 2016

Independent Venue Week: Wedgewood Rooms

If you go up to anyone in Portsmouth and ask them where to see the best up and coming music acts in the city The Wedgewood Rooms is likely to be the name on their lips. Affectionately known by locals as "The Wedge" the venue sits on Albert Road - the hub of Portsmouth's alternative night life; if you want a good gig, you look no further than Albert Road. Between The Wedge and sister venue The Edge Of The Wedge they've had almost every touring band pass through the doors on their way to the top.
The Wedge recently received a facelift from renowned international
artist ARTISTE-OUVRIER
Personally for me The Wedge means a lot having seen nearly 50 bands here over the years, seeing bands like Slaves, Catfish & The Bottlemen, Kagoule and Manchester Orchestra here have been some of the best musical experiences of my life. More importantly than the big bands, however, The Wedge are huge supporters of local bands hosting two sell out shows for local indie-dance band Kassassin Street and another for local cover band Fleetingwood Mac amongst others. They also host the local colleges Showcase event and Battle Of The Bands for all the local talent.
Battle Of The Bands Winners 2015:
Dutch Crimal Records @ Dials Festival - Wedgewood Rooms

MOK @ Dials Festival - Wedgewood Rooms
Not only that The Wedge and the people that run it are heavily involved in a lot of other musical stuff around the city; taking part and helping run multi-venue festivals such as Dials Festival and Southsea Festival.
In short The Wedge is not only a hugely important part of the Portsmouth and south coast music scene but also a big part of the community.
-Luke

IVW events at the wedge
Wednesday 27th - Noyo Mathis
Thursday 28th - Matthew E.White
Saturday 30th - Icebreaker Festival

Sunday 24 January 2016

Independent Venue Week: What It Means

I went to my first gig at the age of 10, I'm not proud to say that it was McFly in Portsmouth Guildhall, but it was my first gig nonetheless. From then on it has improved (a lot!) and this article is about that but more importantly it's about my love affair with music and more specifically music venues.
My first real gig in a proper venue was Tribes in 2012; a fantastic indie rock band whose début album 'Baby' is still one of my favourites in my music library but have unfortunately petered out of existence. The gig was in a venue in Portsmouth called The Wedgewood Rooms, a venue very close to my heart as its the venue at which I've seen the most bands. I guess that explains why Independent Venue Week is something I care a lot about - all the best shows I've been too have been at independent venues such as The Wedge.
The Wedgewood Rooms
Indpendent venues also played a particular role for me last year because 2015 was the year I saw 100 bands live. A hell of a lot of those 100 bands where at independent venues including The Wedge, The Joiners, Clwb Ifor Bach and The Railway Inn. To me these gigs are the most special; small intimate shows, close to the act, close to the action.
Frank Turner @ The Railway Inn
The thing that sets these venues apart from your Guildhalls and Arenas and the such like is their individuality. Each venue as a special air to it, you walk in and suddenly all those past gigs come flooding back, gigs that no matter how many times you see the band, they were so much better in that venue.
Modern Baseball @ The Joiners Southampton
This is why Independent Venue Week is so important, it highlights the grass roots of the music industry. That's what we're talking about here small independent venues are the corner stone of live music, without them all your favourite bands, the most popular bands would not exist. We'd exist in a horrible world of X-factor winners and boring pop and no one wants that.
The Wytches @ Clwb Ifor Bach
This why I urge you, find your local venue and see what's going on this week, you never know you might enjoy it.
- Luke

Independent Venue Week: Gwdihw Cafe

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Saturday 23 January 2016

Independent Venue Week: Gwdihw Cafe

Gwdihw Cafe is one of the smaller venues in Cardiff, roughly 200 capacity it offers a slightly different night out to the usual. We spoke to the bloke currently behind it all, Lloyd.
I spoke to Lloyd about how he became manager of a venue, the joys and difficulties of running one and the effect Independent Venue Week has on Gwdihw Cafe.
Lloyd studied at university in Cardiff and that's how he first discovered Gwdihw, "I was in my third year at Uni and my friends started a night here" (a night thats still going), "I got tired of going to the usual places, this was something different". After finishing university he did music reviews before working for Quench magazine, from there he went to helping at Student Festival which led him to further links with the music industry. After being head of marketing for Undertone and 10 Feet Tall he then took over running Gwdihw; a job he says "you can't do without caring, you have long hours, I would say unsociable hours but if I wasn't working I'd be here anyway!".

Gwdihw means Owl in welsh!
Gwdihw is a lot smaller than the likes of Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff hence having a much smaller night despite this Lloyd says "people come here, not knowing the bands or the Dj but will still come because they know what we put on and they like it. Usually you can come here and see 3 or 4 bands on the door" and may I add, usually for £5 or less.
Gwdihw like to promote local bands and have a night for nearly every genre ranging from Hip-Hop to Funk & Soul to Indie which makes every night a bit different but always with a lovely atmosphere; "There have been nights we've packed the venue out, but there's never any agro, it's always a very nice atmosphere" says Lloyd and I mean with a rustic, homely look to the venue you can't conceive anything other than a nice atmosphere.
Obviously being a small venue a lot of bands make there rounds through Gwdihw, I asked Lloyd who is favourite bands and Djs to come through Gwdihw were; "I'll tell you a band that'll be big soon; Tibet. They played hear twice last year and were brilliant", not only that but for last IVW Frankie & The Heartstrings played and they've had fantastic and famous Dj's on like John Morales who used to play the infamous Studio 54 in the 70's on as well!
The colourful front of Gwdihw Cafe
Indepedent Venue Week is a very important week for venues like Gwdihw because it means an increased publicity for events and bigger acts. "It's like every other week but the acts are just a bit bigger" says Lloyd, "it's a really good way of celebrating venues and recognise the effort that's put into them" and celebrating is exactly what Gwdihw are doing.
Independent venue week is running Monday 25th - Sunday 31st January and Gwdihw have a great programme. On Wednesday they have 16 Bit Sound which is a group which make music using video game music and the such like, a Welsh music showcase on Thursday, Tasker with City Bass on Friday and a guarenteed stunner the Resonators on Saturday night. All for less than £5 each, I would definitely recommend popping down at some point in the week.
It doesn't end there however, venues continue running after IVW and I would definitely recommend heading down to see Wonderbrass on their Mardi Brass night on Pancake day which is off the back of a highly successful show from Bass 12. Expect pancakes and a great night of music.
-Luke


Tuesday 19 January 2016

Review: The Temperance Movement // White Bear

White Bear is the second album from blues rock The Temperance Movement. A follow up to the fantastic self titled début, the band stick to their style but 'rock it up' a bit.
The slow more bluesy songs from the album are in short supply instead the band, while still sticking to their bluesy roots go a bit more rock and roll. Songs like 'Three Bullets' and 'Modern Massacre' really take you back to southern american rock and roll. I absolutely over this album, it has variety while being in the same style and a certain step onwards from the bands début.


The band are currently touring the UK for their new album and I would definitely recommend picking up tickets if you can!
Anyway back to the album; it's a fantastic example of modern blues rock at it's finest - 8/10



Sunday 17 January 2016

Panic! For The Pop Punk Kids

Review: Death Of A Bachelor // Panic! At The Disco

I've never been a huge listener of Panic! At The Disco but this week the band released a new album. Well, I say the band, but in reality it's Brendan Urie's brain child as the 2 other members have been dropped since the last album.

In the same way that pop punk legends Fall Out Boy did last year, there is an air of Urie's music swinging more to the pop end of the spectrum. This comparison, however, goes further than this because at points in this album you wouldnt be able to tell if it was Panic! or Fall Out Boy. This is not necessarily a bad thing, Fall Out Boy are enjoying huge success right now, but the turn this album has taken may disappoint a lot of the bands fans as the music is a big step away from their original sound.

Despite this the album is full of catchy songs, well written and at some points arching back towards the style of Frank Sinatra, an odd mix but Urie pulls it off very well. Despite this it does seem like Urie is attempting to reinvent himself and Panic! as a pop punk Michael Buble.

In the end, this is a fun, funky album but a long way from the bands origins which may dissapoint a few, nonetheless a solid bit of musical work from Urie - 7/10

Sunday 10 January 2016

Top 10 Songs You Might Not Have Heard In 2015

So we know a lot of incredible bands released a lot of amazing music in 2015. But here are 10 great songs you might not have heard!

Radio Silence // Kassassin Street
A band local to my home town of Portsmouth, awesome band and expect big things in 2015!

Made Of Concrete // Kagoule
We saw them twice in 2015! Nice and grumpy, what's not to love!

The Man Who Fell To Earth // Will Varley
With the release of his new album late in the year, we can't wait to see him on his 2016 tour!

Man On Wire // Stornoway
Off the album 'Bonxie', great band and a great song!

Face To Faces // Sleaford Mods
Political and hard hitting, represent working class Britain in a band.

Sputnik // Public Service Broadcasting
The ambient, electronic thud of this song is something to behold, something a bit different nonetheless.

We Were Just Kids // Pj Bond
Saw him support Frank Turner in a tiny venue, lovely bloke and beautiful music.

SLAVE // MOK
Big favourites of ours, this song received great reviews and what a tune it is!

If Nothing Breaks, Nothing Moves // Arcane Roots
This band took a step towards post-harcore with this song and its fab!

High Fever // Bronze Medal
A calm and beautifully chilled out song from a band who sound more refined than this to be from their first album!

Thursday 7 January 2016

10 Gigs To Check Out In Cardiff in 2016

In Cardiff over the next few months? Here are some cracking gigs we've picked out that are definitely worth a watch:

The Temperance Movement with The Sheepdogs // Cardiff, Y Plas // 26th January
Like a bit of Rock 'n' Roll? Definitely for you! (ex-drummer from Feeder too)


YAK with Swedish Death Candy // Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach // 4th February
Tipped for big things in 2016! Catch them before they soar!

Neck Deep with State Champs, CREEPER and Light Years // Cardiff, SU Great Hall // 5th February
A band experiencing a huge rise at the moment. We saw them at Reading Festival last year, definitely worth a look for all you pop punk fans

The Front Bottoms with Kevin Devine & The Goddamn Band // Cardiff, The Globe // 11th February
Another one for fans of pop punk! Big with fans of Modern Baseball and The Smith Street Band, great support as well!

Black Peaks with The Physics House Band // Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach // 18th February
Another one tipped for huge things in 2016! Debut album released in February as well!

Enter Shikari with The Wonder Years and The King Blues // Cardiff, Motorpoint Arena // 23rd February
I mean its Enter Shikari what more can I say? But both supports are incredible, what a line up!

Will Varley with Molly's Lips // Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach // 26th February
Beautiful acoustic melodies and fun folky knees ups!

Crossfaith support TBA // Cardiff, Y Plas // 19th March
Nothing wrong with a bit of crazy Japanese metalcore!

Wolf Alice support TBA // Cardiff, SU Great Hall // 24th March
A band that rose to stardom in 2015! Guaranteed to put on a show, we'll definitely be there!

The Cat Empire support TBA // Cardiff, Tramshed // 3rd April
A bit of ska music to lighten up your April, this is the place to be!

Monday 4 January 2016

2015 Review



Between the 26th February to the 23rd December I saw 100 bands, safe to say 2015 has been a good year, here are my highlights.

New Bands

The best thing about seeing so many bands is that some you may never had heard before. Bands like Slaves (who I saw on a whim in May), Nothing But Thieves, Pretty Vicious, Wonk Unit and Arcane Roots. All fantastic, but for me 2 small, maybe unrecognised bands stood out above the rest: The Lion & The Wolf and MOK.

I saw both for the first time at Blissfields (full review here) and they were both incrdible. MOK are a genre breaking band with elements of electronic, hip hop and rock all mashed together, a live spectacle and all round pleasing to the ears. Having featured on local BBC introducing radio shows I'm hoping 2016 will be a good year for them because they are a fantastic band.
The Lion and The Wolf are very different for MOK, I saw lead singer Tom (also at blissfields) do a solo performance in a tiny acoustic tent. It was a beautiful set incorporating songs from his first album 'Symptoms' and new material as well as a cover of Death Cab For Cutie's 'I Will Follow You Into The Dark' which reduced my friend to tears. With a new album coming out this year again I'm hoping this artist has a great year,

The Lion and The Wolf @ Blissfields
MOK @ Blissifelds



Incredible Shows

This last year I've some absolutely incredible shows... Foals' secret at Reading Festival, Frank Turner at the tiny The Railway Inn in Winchester, a raucous Southampton show from Modern Baseball, the list goes on. By far my favourite, however, was the first of the three times I saw Slaves.

For the whole of April my friend had been bugging me to go to a gig with him, I'd never heard of the band before but I agreed to it, bought my ticket and the night on looked them up on youtube. I was blown away, Slaves blew me away. I spent all the next day buzzing for the gig, having bought the two singles I could find they'd released - "The Hunter" and "Where's Your Car Debbie" - I spent all day with them on repeat and boy did they deliver a show. To this day every time I think about this show, even as I'm writing this now, I get goosebumps. What a show, what a band and what a 2015 they've had.
Slaves @ Cardiff Students Union Great Hall
Frank Turner @ The Railway Inn
Amazing Festivals

This year I managed 5 Festival; Blissfields, Wickham Festival, Reading Festival, Butserfest and Dials Festival. All of which where incredible and I definitely plan on attending in 2016 as well as hopefully more!

But a special shoutout goes to Dials Festival, a small multi-venue festival in Portsmouth. A fantastic line-up with up and coming bands like Kagoule, Black Honey and Hooton Tennis Club and well deserving of their ULX festival award for Best Non-Camping Festival. (full review here)

FlashFires @ Dials Festival

Kagoule @ Dials Festival



Stunning Albums

Not only has this year been an amazing year for live music for me there have been some amazing, o many I had real trouble picking our shortlist let alone the winner! Here's our nominated acts:
Our Album Of The Year Selection
2016...

I am really looking forward to 2016! I have bands to see like the Temperance Movement, Neck Deep, Will Varley, The Algorithm, Front Bottoms and Wolf Alice to name but a few. As well as many festivals to go to.
Not only that we should have some mega albums this year with LCD Soundsystem, Kings Of Leon, Frightened Rabbit, Modern Baseball, Two Door Cinema Club and Moose Blood all in the studio or with albums ready to release. 2016 should be an amazing year for music.

Friday 1 January 2016

Stereo Brain Music Awards 2015 Winners

Breakout Band Of 2015

This was a really tough one, some amazing acts have broken out this year. But the winner for us has to be Slaves. With numerous appearances on Radio 1's Live Lounge, a killer debut album and bringing punk back to the public eye and to a younger generation. Not to mention we saw them 3 times! A great year for Slaves, they deserve this one

Debut Album Of The Year

Again another tough choice with Wolf Alice, Kagoule and Jamie XX all producing stunning debuts but this one goes to 'Are You Satisfied' by Slaves. Thoroughly deserved, a wonderful album!

Best Festival Performance Of The Year

This was definitely the toughest decision. Some incredible performances at some amazing festivals but for us it had to be the Foals secret set at Reading Festival. An amazing set, absolutely blew us away (and a tip of the cap to Slaves who had to follow it).

Album Of The Year

Now. The Big One.

In 3rd Place.... 'The Mindsweep' by Enter Shikari. Building on an already awesome discography this album was beautiful, angry music to our ears.

In 2nd Place... 'Favourite Worry' by The Milk. Not one everyone will own, but an incredible album; soulful, interessting, different. Everything you could want in a nice chilled out album.

But the winner, making it 3 out of 4 awards is 'Are You Satisfied' by Slaves. An awesome album, what more can I say!!